September 28, 2015 at 4:52 p.m.
Court gives doctor more time to evaluate Martinson
Report now due Dec. 1
Court gives doctor more time to evaluate Martinson
Ashlee A. Martinson, 17, entered what is known as an NGI plea in conjunction with not guilty pleas at her arraignment June 29 on two counts of first-degree intentional homicide and three counts of false imprisonment. Martinson is accused of shooting her stepfather, Thomas Ayers, and stabbing her mother, Jennifer Ayers, to death in their town of Piehl home March 7. The false imprisonment charges stem from allegations she imprisoned her three young siblings in a bedroom.
By coupling her not guilty plea with the not guilty by mental disease or defect plea, Martinson's attorneys Thomas Wilmouth and Amy Lynn Ferguson have raised questions as to the teen's state of mind at the time she allegedly committed the murders as well as her ability to assist in her own defense.
At the June arraignment, Branch II Judge Michael Bloom ordered a psychological evaluation, which was assigned to Dr. Brad Smith of Madison.
Smith's report was originally due by Sept. 21 and Bloom had intended to issue a ruling as to Martinson's competency Sept. 28.
However, due to the overwhelming amount of information submitted by both the state and the defense, Smith has asked for more time to complete the report.
Ferguson, who appeared by video teleconference with Martinson from the Oneida County Jail, estimated that Smith would need until Dec. 1 to finish reviewing all of the information and the results of his interviews with Martinson.
Wilmouth sent a letter to Bloom on Sept. 24 advising that the defense was most interested in having a thorough evaluation of their client and would not raise any demands for a speedy trial.
Prosecutor Mike Schiek told Bloom he shares those concerns. He did not object to a delay to allow Smith to complete the evaluation.
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The NGI defense is outlined in Wisconsin Statute 971.15(1). The statute states that "a person is not responsible for criminal conduct if at the time of such conduct, as a result of mental disease or defect, the person lacked substantial capacity either to appreciate the wrongfulness of his or her conduct or conform his or her conduct to the requirements of law."
The burden of proving such a disease or defect exists is on the defense, according to the statute.
This defense differs from what is normally referred to as "temporary insanity" under the statute. In such cases the defendant will plead guilty, but not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect.
If after reviewing Smith's report a judge rules that Martinson, due to a mental disease or defect, cannot assist in her own defense, the district attorney's office will then have to either drop the charges or ask that Martinson be committed to a state mental health institution until she is able to assist her attorneys.
If the judge rules Martinson can assist in her defense the case will proceed to trial.
As outlined in the statute, Martinson would face a bifurcated or split trial. The first phase is the determination of guilt phase. If she is found not guilty, the second phase is not needed and she will be released. If she is found guilty, a second hearing will be held and a jury will decide if she should be held criminally responsible or found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect.
If the jury finds that Martinson is not guilty by mental disease or defect, Bloom will order her committed to the Department of Health Services rather than the Department of Corrections. The sentence will be for a specific period of time up to the maximum prison sentence for the crime. In Martinson's case, she faces up to life in prison without the possibility of release on extended supervision.
Although persons committed under an NGI defense can petition for release from the Department of Health Services, they must prove to the presiding judge that they are no longer a threat to society.
One of Martinson's sisters told Oneida County Sheriff's Department detectives Martinson and her parents had an argument on March 7 about Martinson continuing to see her 22-year-old boyfriend Ryan Sisco.
According to the sister, Martinson was upstairs in her bedroom when Thomas Ayers came into the house from outside.
When he was told that Martinson was upstairs, he went upstairs and began to pound on her bedroom door, the child said.
She told detectives that she heard two gunshots and saw her mother go upstairs. She said Jennifer Ayers then called for the younger girl by name and when she got to the stairs she saw Martinson fighting with her mother. She said Martinson told her to go back downstairs and she did. Eventually, her mother stopped screaming, she said.
The child told the detective that when Martinson came downstairs, allegedly holding Ayers' knife and gun, she was "bloody and bleeding" from a stab wound to her leg and cuts on her fingers. She put cartoons on for the three younger children while she took two showers. When she was done with the second shower, the child said Martinson told her siblings to go in the younger girls' bedroom gave them food, and then tied the door shut so they could not get out. They eventually got out the next day and called 9-1-1.
According to court records, Martinson then fled toward Tennessee with Sisco. The pair were apprehended on an interstate highway in Boone County, Indiana, north of Indianapolis, the next day after a nationwide manhunt.
Sisco waived extradition and was returned to Lincoln County in March. He pled guilty to having sexual intercourse with a child age 16 or older, a class A misdemeanor, on May 5 as part of a plea agreement that includes the condition that he must testify against Martinson at trial.
Martinson initially declined to waive extradition from Indiana, triggering a formal legal process in which Gov. Scott Walker had to request her return from Indiana Gov. Mike Pence. But April 9, at a hearing lasting approximately 15 minutes, she chose to voluntarily return to Wisconsin. She was brought back to Oneida County April 23.
Smith's report is now due Dec. 1. A status conference to discuss the results was scheduled for Dec. 11.
Jamie Taylor may be reached at jtaylor@ lakelandtimes.com.
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